10 Wrestlers WWE Could Poach From NJPW Next

by Michael Sidgwick

1. The Rest

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Jushin 'Thunder' Liger has already fought on NXT soil, but that seemed to have the definitive air of a one-off. Then again, his legend is such that, if WWE really wanted to rubber-stamp their cruiserweight revival, they could do worse than use him to fortify the winner of their upcoming Classic tournament.

Speaking of which, the UK's (and WCPW's) own Will Ospreay was a lock for it before he committed his short-term future to NJPW. If Finn Balor's meandering route to Connecticut is any indication, WWE will be content to let him continue his eastern education.

Ricochet, long mooted for an NXT call-up, was purportedly outshone by Zack Sabre Jr. in EVOLVE's WrestleMania weekend shows - meaning he may have fallen behind in the pecking order.

Onto the heavyweights, and the ages of the most glaring omissions from the main list - Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata - in all likelihood mean they have missed the NXT boat. Conversely, EVIL and SANADA are only just getting their feet wet. Of all the outliers, Michael Elgin is probably the safest bet, but he isn't quite good enough (yet) to mask his shortcomings in the charisma stakes.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!